Jones has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax

Published at 10:36 AM EDT on Aug 2, 2018

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In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016, file photo, American conspiracy theorist and radio show host Alex Jones, center, is escorted by police out of a crowd of protesters after he said he was attacked in Public Square in Cleveland, during the second day of the Republican convention.

The music streaming service Spotify says it has removed some episodes of "The Alex Jones Show" podcast for violating its hate content policy. The move followed a backlash on social media.

"We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community," the company said in a statement late Wednesday.

Among other claims, Jones has called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting a hoax. He was sued for defamation by families of some of the children killed in that attack, which left 20 children and six adults dead.

He now admits the shooting occurred but says his claims were free speech. He has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Jones' profile has spread from the far-right fringe in recent years. While running for president in 2015, Donald Trump told Jones his reputation was "amazing."